The sun from both sides.

“I think that [Mulder and Scully’s] relationship is defined not by what’s being said, but by what’s being withheld. But it’s absolutely plain that they love each other — in their own way. It’s the best kind of love. It’s unconditional. It’s not based on a physical attraction, but on a shared passion for life and for their quest. These are romantic heroes, romantic heroes in the literary tradition.“ 

Hey guys! If you’ve ever been interested in supporting my comics work financially, you can do it through Patreon!!! All of the funds from Patreon will go towards creating both the graphic novel and Mooncakes, which so many folks seem excited for judging by the traction the preview got! 

I’ve said on Patreon but will say here:

I’m trying to pitch and sell the graphic novel to a publishing company, so all updates beyond chapter 1 will be patreon exclusive. However, Mooncakes is and always will be a free comic to read online, and will start within the next two months or so. 

There are, of course, bonus perks for your support– exclusive sketches, early update previews, and the like!

Huge explosion in China has killed 17, wounded over 400.

The Tianjin Fire Department (link in Chinese) reported that the fire began about 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday local time, and two explosions followed within 30 seconds of each other. About 100 fire trucks have been sent to the scene, the department said.

The China Earthquake Networks Center reported that the first explosion had a 2.3 degree magnitude (equivalent to 3 tons of TNT), and the second had a 2.9 degree magnitude (equivalent to 21 tons of TNT).

According to the Tianjin Public Security Bureau, the explosion happened at the Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd., which handles the transport of hazardous goods.

LoK: Outdated Ideas

you will fuck up

Luxury and the consumption of labor.

By Lisa Wade, PhD

I came across this fascinating poster advertising tea at The Coffee Bean in Irvine, CA. The ad features tea leaves balled up into small tea “pearls” and spilled into a person’s palm. It reads:

Three minutes to fragrant perfection.

It takes a full day to hand-roll 17 ounces of our Jasmine Dragon Pearl Green Tea.  But in just three minutes you can watch these aromatic pearls unfurl gracefully into one of the world’s most soothing and delicious teas.

This ad suggests that others’ toil should enhance one’s experience of pleasure.  The fact that it takes a significant amount of human labor to “hand-roll” tea leaves into balls — an action that is in no way asserted to change the taste of the tea — is supposed to make the tea moreappealing and not less.  We are supposed to enjoy not just the visual, but the fact that others worked hard to produce it for us.  A whole day of their labor for just three minutes of curly goodness.

This is a rather stunning value pervading U.S. culture.  Luxury may be defined not only as pleasure, or as the consumption of the scarce, but as the “unfurling” of others’ hard work.  What could be more luxurious than the casual-and-fleeting enjoyment of the hard-and-long labor of others?

Dozens of Dinosaur Eggs Discovered by Construction Workers in Chinese City

Construction workers unearthed 43 fossilized dinosaur eggs during road repair work in Heyuan city in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Sunday.